Pentatonic Music

Pentatonic scales are one of the most widely used scales in music and are common to many different musical cultures including European Folk, Celtic, Asian and African. In modern western music, they are usually associated with blues. When it comes to guitar, a knowledge of pentatonics is essential in learning blues melody and soloing. To consider pentatonics as a purely blues scale though would be incorrect as they are used all over the world, including in classical music. French composer Claude Debussy frequently used the Pentatonic Scale in his compositions.
The basic concept of pentatonics is that they consist of 5 notes and differ from the 7 note Major and Minor Diatonic Scales in that they omit degrees from those scales. These 5 note scales can be seen as major foundations upon which further notes can actually be added to. More of this later.
As a starting point let's look at the C Natural Major Scale. The major scales consist of 7 notes separated by Semi-Tones except between the 3rd and 4th Degrees and also between the 7th and 8th where the difference is a Tone.
C - D - E - F - G - A - B
In the C Pentatonic Major Scale, the F and B notes are omitted. This results in the distance between all the notes being a Tone, except between the E and G, and again between the A and C where it is a Tone Plus a Semi-tone:
C - D - E - G - A
If you then look at the C Natural Minor scale, this differs from the C Natural Major scale in that the 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees of the scale are flattened:
C - D - bE - F - G - bA - bB
The Pentatonic Minor Scale differs from this scale in that the 2nd and 6th (notes D and Ab) Degrees of the scale are omitted:
C - bE - F - G - bB
Pentatonics are the most widely used non diatonic scale. They consist of a strong melodic feel and are great for improvisation, especially with styles such as jazz, rock and blues. Pentatonic scales are also versatile and act like a framework upon which additional melodic flavor can be added. It is extremely common for the basic pentatonic scales shown above to have extra notes added. As an example, the Minor Pentatonic scale can be extended in the following ways:
1. The addition of the flattened fifth. This gives what is generally known as the "blue note" sound. This flattened fifth is added between the perfect fourth and perfect fifth.
2. Another option is when there is the addition of the Major third. This comes from combining major harmony with the minor scale.
3. Adding a major sixth as well as a major second. This results in a full seven note scale, and allows a greater range of tonal color across 12 bar blues progressions.

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